With a ten inch trout, none of this really matters. The little guys don’t challenge your tackle or fish-fighting skills. But with a trout longer than your arm, if you don't put the fish on the reel, problems are right around the corner. Unique to fly fishing is what’s...
Articles With the Tag . . . wild trout
How to Hold a Trout
You can’t stop fishermen from holding their trout. All of the Keep ‘Em Wet campaigns and the tools will not stop anglers from reaching into the water and lifting their prize. It’s a desire to complete the...
Obsessions
Just after one-o-clock, I glanced up from my notebook and saw the rhythmic taillights of a small USPS Jeep outside my studio window. Its red lamps brightened and dimmed rhythmically through a misting rain and a spring fog which the afternoon could not shake off. The...
Save the Discovery
Burke had been traveling. North, south, east or west I cannot share because I’ve been sworn to secrecy. You see, the best river spots are enhanced by our conviction of their rarity, believing that they are special enough to be protected, even if they aren’t all that...
Streamside | 86,000 Miles and the Unassessed Waters Initiative
Protecting our rivers and the fish that live there — that’s the mission, isn’t it? That’s what so many good people and anglers work toward. Trout Unlimited has partnered with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat commission to search for and protect undiscovered...
Super-Prime Lies and Big Trout | The Spots Within the Spots
I recently wrote about locating and fishing rivers where big trout live. But there’s a level beyond that. The spots within the spots are super-prime lies. These are places that hold big trout (almost) all the time. They are as reliable as anything in fishing ever gets.
Zoom in. Get specific. Because, within every good spot, there’s a best spot. And when you find it, you can really dial things in. The best fish will be there day after day . . .
Clarity and Science about Wild vs Stocked Trout, from Halverson’s ‘An Entirely Synthetic Fish,’ and from The Troutlook
I’m no scientist. I’m not a fisheries biologist or an entomologist -- I’m just a fisherman. But you probably sensed that already. When anyone speaks about the negative effects of stocking hatchery trout over wild trout populations, the inevitable challenge for proof...
We Are Wild Trout | Looking forward, after Pennsylvania’s first wild trout summit
Is this a wild trout movement? There's certainly more outspoken support for Pennsylvania's wild trout than I’ve ever seen. The massive turnout at the Wild Trout Summit last Saturday, on a cool and partly-cloudy day (perfect for actually fishing instead of talking...
Why Wild Trout Matter
We believe wild trout populations should be protected, wherever they are found. That starts by eliminating the stocking of hatchery trout over good wild trout populations. It continues by finding struggling wild trout populations and helping them — strengthening their numbers by improving water quality and habitat.
Neither state nor private organizations should be permitted to stock over established wild trout populations.Â
We believe that wild trout, wherever they are found, should be given a chance.
But Why?
I asked some of my fishing friends why wild trout matter, and I thought their answers would be similar. Surprisingly, they weren’t. Their reasons for loving and caring about wild trout vary significantly in message and tone.
In truth, there are hundreds of reasons why wild trout matter. And my friends gave me impassioned answers. Here are some of their words . . .
The Pennsylvania Wild Trout Summit is Coming
Wild trout are the heart of Troutbitten. We chase these fish so we can be part of the extraordinary places where they're found, if just for a little while. Eventually, the environs become part of us, and we carry a piece of the river inside our own thoughts and...